Autoresponders are email programs that responds to you when you send an email to a particular email address. Sometimes, these are disguised as an opt-in box where you fill in your details and your email address. Their responses can be programmed to work automatically. You may specify the number of messages to send as well as the interval between the messages.

Normally, autoresponders are used for follow-up after your visitors have made an initial enquiry. If they don't buy during the first time, you may entice them to give you their email address so that you may follow up later.

The purpose of the follow-up is to remind them that they have been to your place and looked at your products. You may elaborate further on your product's benefits or offer additional bonuses to secure the deal. From statistics, the average number of contacts before a transaction takes place is about 7 times. So, don't give up easily if they don't buy initially. The beauty of the autoresponders is that they do the follow-up for you automatically, saving you time and effort.

I have listed below some autoresponders which you may use. Some are free, some you may purchase for a one time cost and some you pay a monthly fee. The free ones are normally a restricted version of the full pro version that you may upgrade for a fee. Often, the free ones come with advertisement as well. To get a feel for the different features and functionality of autoresponders, visit the links below to get an in-depth explanation of each.

Get Response - Has a free version with limited functionalities and comes with advertisements. Upgrade to the full version for US$12.12 a month. No support for free version but there is comprehensive demo and manuals online. Impressive and highly recommended. Used by many top marketers.

Mail Loop - No monthly fees. Purchase it via 4 installments of US$94.75. Has tons of features including html email, personalisation, recovery system etc. Too many to list. Check it out.

A Weber - A very reliable service used by many of the top marketers. Monthly fee US$19.95 (cheaper by quarterly or yearly). 30 days free trial.

RECOMMENDED READING

Go to Get Response or A Weber site above. You can sign up for some lessons which explains the usage of autoresponder. These lessons are delivered to you by autoresponder (what else) and demonstrates the use of an autoresponder.